Foldable support for limp plastic bags

ABSTRACT

A unitary elongated strip of thermoplastic material, for example of polypropylene is formed with a pair of living hinges separating the strip into a central base portion and a pair of upstanding portions; the strip is reinforced by means of angles, ribs, or the like, or of sufficient thickness to be stable when erected and support a small polyethylene bag having its mouth folded over the edges of the support sections; interengaging latches are provided to maintain the supports upright and extended away from the base; when swung over the living hinges, the stiffening ribs, angles or material thicknesses are so arranged that they will fit into each other to enable flat folding of the frame.

United States Patent V Lake 1 1 3,687,408 1451 Aug.2 9, 1972 [541FOLDABLE SUPPORT FOR LIMP PLASTIC BAGS 52 US. c1. ..248/97, 248/174 511111.01. ..B65b67/12 [58] FieldofSearch ..248/97, 99, 9 ,152,174; 211/443; lO8/132;,229/51 T8 [56] i References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,556,626 1/1971 SChOCk.'.. ..312/214 993,964 5/1911 Davis; ..248/983,385,450 5/1968 11611161 ..211/42 2,456,862 12/1948 Chapman ..108/1323,089,632 5/1963 Bartolucci.l...., ..248/174X Bronson ..108/131 FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 429,578 1/ 1967 Switzerland ..232/43.2

Primary ExaminerChancellor E. Harris Attorney-Oswald G. Hayes, Andrew L.Gaboriault, Mitchell G. Condos and James D. Tierney [57] ABSTRACT Aunitary elongated strip of thermoplastic material,

for example of polypropylene is formed with a pair of 1 living hingesseparating the strip into a central base portion and a pair ofupstanding portions; the strip is reinforced by means of angles, ribs,or the like, or of sufficient thickness to be stable when erected andsupport a small polyethylene bag having its mouth folded over the edgesof the support sections; interengaging latches are provided to maintainthe supports upright and extended away from the base; when swung overthe living hinges, the stiffening ribs, angles or material thicknessesare so arranged that they will fit into each other to enable flatfolding of the frame.

16 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures mama Patented Aug, 29, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet2 w V w- Patented Aug. 29, 1972 Y I 3,687,408

- I I Sheets-Sheet 3 I Patented Aug. 29,1972 3,687,408

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 29, 1972 1 [3,687,408

- 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v FOLDABLE SUPPORT FOR LIMP PLASTIC BAGS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention --The present invention relatesto support stands for disposable trash and garbage bags, andparticularly for trash and garbage bags of sufficiently small size sothat the entire unit can be set on a kitchen table, used with smalldisposable bags for small amounts of kitchen scraps which, together withthe bag, is then discarded; the stand being so constructed that it canreadily be folded in flat form for easy storage.

Plastic bags are not self-supporting and will not stand up, straight,and remain open. When paper bags are used for disposal of kitchenscraps, difficultiesoften arise since paper becomes soggy, greasy, andloses all strength when wet. Plastic bags, and particularly thinpolyethylene plastic bags'having a wall thickness in the order of a mil,or so, have the advantage that they are sanitary, waterproof, imperviousto grease, and inexpensive. In order to maintain the bags open, however,

to enable disposal therein of trash, kitchen garbage and the like, theymust be maintained by a stand since they are not self-erecting.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive standwhich can be made of plastic material which securely holds disposabletrash and garbage bags in open, erected position, while supporting theweight thereof.

SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION Briefly, a unitary elongated strip ofthermoplastic material, such as polypropylene is provided and subdividedby a pair of living hinges into a central or base portion, and a pair ofsupport portions which are so arranged that they can be folded away fromthe base portion and erected to extend at about 90 therefrom. A stop isprovided to limit the unfolding swinging of the support portions so thatthey will stand, erected. Preferably latch means hold the supportportion in extended position at least for a sufficiently long period oftime to permit placing a limp plastic bag, as previously referred to,with its mouth open over the-projecting edges of the support portions.The support portions will then, at two sides confine the sides of theplastic bag to prevent it from bulging out and provide for easy removal;the base portion will support the plastic bag.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the plastic bag is of thetype which has a tear-off strip around the mouth thereof so that, priorto removal of the filled bag, the strip can be torn off and used as aclosing strip directly for the filled bag to provide for sanitarydisposal of the contents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdescription considered in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a generally perspective view of the structure of the presentinvention with a bag therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bag prior to placement on thestructure;

FIG. 3 is a view of the structure having one support portion erected,and the other in the process of being erected;

FIG. 4 illustrates a step in the folding of the structure and, indetail, a latch;

FIG. 5 illustrates the support of FIG. 3 in folded form, in perspectiveview;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an unfolded flat alternative embodimentof the invention and formed, generally, as a frame;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the frame of FIG. 6. erected;

FIG. 8 shows the folding of the frame of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional detail of another embodiment of a latchmember;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a different embodiment of the presentinvention showing a ribbed sup p FIG. 11 is a perspective top viewshowing a step in the folding of the support of FIG. 10, with adifferent form of latch;

FIG. 12 illustrates the frame of FIG. 10, completely folded;

FIG. 13 illustrates a different embodiment of the support, in foldedcondition;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the support of FIG. 13, lying flat;

and FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the support of The disposable bagfor use in the frame is made, for example, of polyethylene or similarplastic of about one mil wall thickness and has four side walls 11, 12,l3, l4 and a bottom 15. The upper ends of the side walls are formed witha tear line 16 which preferably extends circumferentially around thebag. After the bag is filled, the top portion of the walls can besevered at the tear line 16 and the resulting strip, either looped ortorn in half, can be used to tie the bag together for sanitary disposal.

Polyethylene or plastic bags are usually limp and will not stay erectedin the position shown in FIG. 2 without an external support. The presentinvention relates to such asupport, and to the combination bag andsupport. It consists, essentially, of a base 20 and a pair of supportsections 21, 22. The base and the support sections are made of a unitarypiece of plastic material, for example polypropylene, which areinterconnected by thin flexible sections commonly referred to as livinghinges. Two such living hinges 23, 24 interconnect the support sections21, 22 with the base 20.

The frame is so arranged that it can be folded flat (see FIGS. 5 or 12)or erected, by folding the side walls 21, 22 about the living hinges 23,24 so that the side walls will lie against the base and against eachother. When erected, the bag 10 is placed on the base 20, the side walls12, 14 of the bag are folded over the support sections 21, 22 of thestand, and pulled downwardly so that the tear line 16 will preferably bebelow the top edge of the side walls 21, 22 of the support. Removal,after filling, is simple since the contents of the bag are supported onthe base, and the side walls 21, 22 prevent bulging outwardly of thecontents which might interfere with slipping the bag out of the supportframe.

Embodiment of FIGS. 3-5 The side walls 31, 32 are hinged by means ofliving hinges 33, 34 to base 30. Both side walls and base are formed ofthin sheets of polypropylene, with angled-off sides as seen, forexample, at 35 to provide stiffness. The width of side wall 31 is lessthan that of side wall 32, and the width of side wall 32 is less thanthat of base 30 so that, when the side walls are folded in the directionof arrows A, A into the position seen in FIG. 4, the side walls willfold flat against each other and the angled edges will not interfere.The entire frame, folded flat, is seen in FIG. 5.

The living hinges 33, 34 permit folding about an angle of 270, since thebottom edge of angle 35 of the side walls is arranged to bear against astrip of material 36 to limit any inward swinging of the side wallsbeyond a substantially perpendicular direction to the base. Due to theflexibility of the material used, a bag can readily be stretched overthe free edges of the upstanding side wall support sections.

Living hinges of polypropylene do not retain the position into which thetwo portions have been moved, since they tend to return to an unstressedposition. In order to keep the side walls, supporting the sides of thebag in erected position when the bag is to be inserted, a latch isprovided which is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. One of the angledextensions 35 has an extending tab 37 formed with a small hook whichengages into a hole 38. Upon placing the support section 32 in theposition shown in FIG. 3, the tab 37 will resiliently deflect and thehooked end will hook through the hole 38. Other latch'arrangements canbe used and will be described in connection with the other embodiments,it being understood that any one of the embodiments of the support canutilize any suitable latching arrangement. In a preferred form, bothsupport sections have latches to hold them erect for convenience ofplacing a bag therein.

The frame of FIG. 3 is formed of an open lattice, which should have meshopenings sufficiently small so that, under ordinary household use,thebag will not substantially bulge between the openings provided sothat the bulging material will interfere with ready, upright removal ofthe bag from the frame. Suitable sizes for thin polyethylene bags wouldbe openings'in the order of about 4 centimeter-square, which issufficiently small to prevent undesirable bulges and yet does not wastematerial. The height of the side walls can be in the order of about 17cm, with a width of about 12 cm; the base itself would be in the sameorder as the height of the side walls. The mouth of the erected bag willthen have a rectangular opening which has been found to be particularlyconvenient in use and which, nevertheless, permits the frame to befolded (FIG. 5) flat and have an outline convenient for packaging.

Embodiment of FIGS. 6 8: The base 60 is formed as a frame, to which twoframe-like upstanding support sections 61, 62 are attached by livinghinges 63, 64. The total weight of material of the support of FIGS. 6-8is low, although the frame sections forming the base, as well as thesupport sections are of sufficiently thick material to beself-supportingwhen erected (FIG. 7). In order to provide for flat folding of thesupport sections against each other, thenormally upstanding supportsection 62 is offset adjacent the base by an amount at least equal tothe thickness of the frame members of the opposite support section 61,as seen at 69. Thus, when the support sections are folded against thebase, the offset will provide enough room for flat-folding of bothsupport sections against each other (see FIG. 8). For stiffness, thebase has a transverse member 65; similar stiffening members may beprovided in upstanding frames 61, 62, which may additionally have athin, non-supporting mesh of plastic material, similar to the side wallsillustrated in connection with FIGS. 3-5 to prevent bulging of a baginserted in the frames forming the upstanding members 61, 62. The livinghinges 63, 64 can fold about an angle of 270 degrees. In one position,that is approaching the folded flat position (see FIG. 8), the framesare flat against the base, or each other, respectively. When erected,they have been folded over 270 degrees and are prevented from furtherfolding by a pair of angled surfaces 70, 71 formed at matching sides ofthe base, and the support sections, respectively, and each angled by 45degrees to form a complementary angle when erected see FIG. 7. Theupstanding support sections are held in position by a pin and detentarrangement 67, 68; the pin is preferably slightly larger to provide aninterference fit and hold the frame, when erected, in the position ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates, in cross-sectional view, and in detail the matchingsurfaces 70, 71. The pin 67 is preferably made long enough so that thedistance of the end of the pin 67 from the hinge line 63 is sufficientlygreater than the radius from the hinge line 63 to the root of the pin67, which would also be the distance from the hinge line 63 to theopening 68, so that the pin 67 will enter hole 68 with an interferencefit, the support sections 60,61 then being resiliently held togethersince in any position other than the erected position, as seen in FIG.7, pin 67 will not fit exactly into opening 68. Pin 67 can readily bemolded of the same material as the entire frame, and the opening 68molded when the structure is first made.

Embodiment of FIGS. 10 12: The base r is formed of a flat sheet ofmaterial which has longitu- I dinally extending ribs. The ribs, whenerected, on one support section 101 will be opposite with respect totheother support section 102, that is the ribs will be facing laterallyoffset with respect to each other so that the three sections of thesupport can fold flat into each other as seen in FIG. 12, presenting asmooth outline at the outer surface. To provide for inward folding of.side wall 101, it is slightly relieved at its hinge edge, as seen at105. The side walls are held erect by means of a latch arrangementillustrated only in FIGS. 10 and 11, and omitted from FIG. 12 forclarity. A small tab 107 with a depression 107a internally thereof, withrespect to the base, and which may be in form of a hole through the tab107 engages a small projecting button 108 formed on the base (FIG. 11).Other arrangements are of course possible, such as a groove formed inthe base which is engaged by a ridge formed on tab 107, or the like.Slanting surfaces 110, 111 provide for hearing surfaces to limit thetravel over which the support'sections 101, 102 can be swung whenerecting the'stand from the closed position shown in FIG. 12 to the openposition of FIG. 10.

Two of the walls presented by the stand to the bag will be smooth,namely the interior walls of the base 100 and of the upstanding section101; the other interior wall of upstanding section 102 will be ribbed;the ribs are not seen in FIG. 11 since they are hidden from view at allsides, only the smooth, inside walls of the base, and upstanding supportsection 101 being visible, as well as the outside wall of the othersupport section 102.

Embodiment of FIGS. 13 15: A base section 130 is interconnected byliving hinges 133, 134 with upstanding support sections 131, 132 which,preferably, are notched as best seen in FIGS. 14 and 15, to savematerial. Other configurations of the side walls are of course possible,for example window openings, circular cut-outs and the like.

The bottom surface of the base 130, as seen in FIG.

14, is in alignment with the bottom surface of upstanding section 132;the bottom surface of upstanding section 131, however, is offset by halfthe thickness thereof, as seen at 138; the upstanding section 132 isrelieved as seen at 139. The relief 139 fits against the end of sidewall 131, and the notch formed by the half thickness 138 fits over andabout the folded-over wall section 132 see FIG. 13. Any suitable latchmeans, as explained in connection with any of the previous figures canbe used to hold the wall sections erected and in position. Preferably,the bottom section 130 has a thickness slightly greater than that of thewall sections to provide for adequately dimensioned bearing surfaces140, 141 between the base section and the upstanding support sections.

The present invention thus provides for a support structure for limpplastic bags which can be folded into flat, compact form and combinedwith a limp bag to hold the bag erected, and in position with awide-mouth opening, spreading the entire circumference of the bag;insertion of the bag is simple, can be done with one hand if at leastone of the upstanding wall sections is provided with a self-holdinglatch. When filled, the bag can be easily removed and if the upstandingsections are formed with material presenting a surface havinginterruptions dimensioned to prevent bulging of a filled bag between thesides, can again be removed by lifting straight out, even though the bagmay be completely filled. The stops provided to define the erected sizeof the support need not provide for perpendicularly extending supportsections; different angular orientations, for example outwardlydiverging can also be used, although the capacity of the inserted bagwill not then be used to its fullest advantage.

The stand, and the support may be made of almost any size, and will belightweight, easy to clean and sanitary in use. The stand itself can bere-used for many bags, can readily be packaged separately or incombination with bags, and when folded flat takes little storage space.

The invention has been described in connection with stands made out ofunitary sheets of polypropylene material, having living hingesinterconnecting the base and the support sections thereof; othermaterials and other, equivalent types of hinges may be used; and manychanges and variations may be made within the inventive concept.

Iclairn:

1. Foldable support for a limp plastic bag to keep the mouth of the bagopen and erect comprising:

a unitary elongated flat strip-like element of thermoplastic materialhaving transverse living hinges (23, 24; 33, 34), the hinges subdividingsaid striplike element into a central base portion (20) and a pair ofsubstantially similar support portions (21, 22) located at either sideof the central base portion;

stop means (35, 36; 70, 71) formed on at least one of said portionsadjacent the living hinges and bearing against an adjacent other portionwhen said support portions are swung to project approximatelyperpendicularly to said base portion and to support a bag between theerected support portions;

and engageable connecting means (37, 38; 67, 68; 107, 108) to connectadjacent portions and hold said adjacent portions in position such thatthe support portions extend approximately perpendicularly from the baseportion.

2. Support according to claim 1 wherein the connecting means includeslatching means interengaging the base portion and at least one of saidsupport portions to lock said portions together.

3. Support according to claim 2 wherein the latching means comprises anopening formed in one of said portions and a matching projection formedon the other portion and fitting into said opening.

4. Support according to claim 3 wherein said projection includes a pinfitting into the opening with an interference fit.

5. Support according to claim 4 wherein the opening is straight and thepin extends towards the opening and projects from the tangent of thecircle having the hinge line of the living hinge as the center by anamount suffrcient to present an interference fit to the pin uponentering the opening.

6. Support according to claim 2 wherein the latching means comprises aprojecting tab formed on one of said portions;

and matching recess and projections formed on the other of said portionsand said tab, respectively.

7. Support according to claim 1 wherein the connecting means includesinterengaging latching means formed on the base adjacent the hinge andon one of said support portions and locking said portions together inposition to provide for approximately right angle extension of saidsupport portions from said base portion.

8. Support according to claim 1 in combination with a bag of limpmaterial, said support portions extending substantially parallel to eachother, and perpendicularly to the base portion, said bag having bottomand side walls and an open mouth, the material adjacent said open mouthof said bag being folded over the free edges of said upstanding supportportions;

the bottom of said bag bearing against said base portions of thestrip-like element;

and two side walls of said bag being confined by said support portions.

9. Support according to claim 8 wherein said bag has a zone of weakenedmaterial adjacent the mouth thereof and forming a tear line;

and the length of said side walls of the bag is suffrciently longer thanthe length of the support portions to permit folding of the side wallsof the bag over the support portions and beyond the region of said tearline.

10. Support according to vclaim 1 wherein the stop means comprises aregion of flattened material and located adjacent said hinges, saidflattened material being complementan'ly angled to provide a stop at anangle of about 90 between adjacent portions.

11. Support according to claim 1 wherein the material is sheet-like andformed with longitudinal ribs to provide stiffness, said ribs beingoffset transversely with respect to each other to permit flat folding ofsaid portions against each other.

12. Support according to claim 1 wherein said striplike elementcomprises a strip of material formed to provide a plurality of openframes of predetermined thickness;

and one of said portions is formed with an offset adjacent the hinge atleast as deep as the thickness of said material to provide, when folded,a step to accomodate the thickness of the material of an op- I posedsupport portion and enable flat storage and folding of said supportstructure.

13. Support according to claim 12 wherein said strip of material is cutto provide frame-like portions.

14. Support according to claim 1 wherein one of said support portionshas its surface adjacent the hinge line offset with respect to the hingeby a distance at least equal to the thickness of the other supportportion to permit flat folding of said support portions against, and

nested into each other.

15. Folder support for a limp plastic bag to keep the bag open and erectcomprising:

a unitary elongated strip of thermoplastic material having transverseliving hinges and subdividing said strip into a central base portion anda pair of support portions;

and stop means formed on at least one of said portions adjacent thehinges and bearing against an adjacent other portion when said supportportions are swung to project approximately perpendicular to said baseportion and to support a bag between the erected support portions;

said support being further characterized in that said material is flat,the lateral edges of all said portions being formed with bent-overangles to provide stiffness for said flat material;

the distance between said angles being different on the differentportions of said support to enable folding of said portions within eachother without interference of said angles;

and said stop means comprising a strip of material located on one ofsaid portions to bear against the end face of an angle on an adjacentportion.

16. Support according to claim 15 wherein said material is formed withmesh openings.

1. Foldable support for a limp plastic bag to keep the mouth of the bagopen and erect comprising: a unitary elongated flat strip-like elementof thermoplastic material having transverse living hinges (23, 24; 33,34), the hinges subdividing said strip-like element into a central baseportion (20) and a pair of substantially similar support portions (21,22) located at either side of the central base portion; stop means (35,36; 70, 71) formed on at least one of said portions adjacent the livinghinges and bearing against an adjacent other portion when said supportportions are swung to project approximately perpendicularly to said baseportion and to support a bag between the erected support portions; andengageable connecting means (37, 38; 67, 68; 107, 108) to connectadjacent portions and hold said adjacent portions in position such thatthe support portions extend approximately perpendicularly from the baseportion.
 2. Support according to claim 1 wherein the connecting meansincludes latching means interengaging the base portion and at least oneof said support portions to lock said portions together.
 3. Supportaccording to claim 2 wherein the latching means comprises an openingformed in one of said portions and a matching projection formed on theother portion and fitting into said opening.
 4. Support according toclaim 3 wherein said projection includes a pin fitting into the openingwith an interference fit.
 5. Support according to claim 4 wherein theopening is straight and the pin extends towards the opening and projectsfrom the tangent of the circle having the hinge line of the living hingeas the center by an amount sufficient to present an interference fit tothe pin upon entering the opening.
 6. Support according to claim 2wherein the latching means comprises a projecting tab formed on one ofsaid portions; and matching recess and projections formed on the otherof said portions and said tab, respectively.
 7. Support according toclaim 1 wherein the connEcting means includes interengaging latchingmeans formed on the base adjacent the hinge and on one of said supportportions and locking said portions together in position to provide forapproximately right angle extension of said support portions from saidbase portion.
 8. Support according to claim 1 in combination with a bagof limp material, said support portions extending substantially parallelto each other, and perpendicularly to the base portion, said bag havingbottom and side walls and an open mouth, the material adjacent said openmouth of said bag being folded over the free edges of said upstandingsupport portions; the bottom of said bag bearing against said baseportions of the strip-like element; and two side walls of said bag beingconfined by said support portions.
 9. Support according to claim 8wherein said bag has a zone of weakened material adjacent the mouththereof and forming a tear line; and the length of said side walls ofthe bag is sufficiently longer than the length of the support portionsto permit folding of the side walls of the bag over the support portionsand beyond the region of said tear line.
 10. Support according to claim1 wherein the stop means comprises a region of flattened material andlocated adjacent said hinges, said flattened material beingcomplementarily angled to provide a stop at an angle of about 90*between adjacent portions.
 11. Support according to claim 1 wherein thematerial is sheet-like and formed with longitudinal ribs to providestiffness, said ribs being offset transversely with respect to eachother to permit flat folding of said portions against each other. 12.Support according to claim 1 wherein said strip-like element comprises astrip of material formed to provide a plurality of open frames ofpredetermined thickness; and one of said portions is formed with anoffset adjacent the hinge at least as deep as the thickness of saidmaterial to provide, when folded, a step to accomodate the thickness ofthe material of an opposed support portion and enable flat storage andfolding of said support structure.
 13. Support according to claim 12wherein said strip of material is cut to provide frame-like portions.14. Support according to claim 1 wherein one of said support portionshas its surface adjacent the hinge line offset with respect to the hingeby a distance at least equal to the thickness of the other supportportion to permit flat folding of said support portions against, andnested into each other.
 15. Folder support for a limp plastic bag tokeep the bag open and erect comprising: a unitary elongated strip ofthermoplastic material having transverse living hinges and subdividingsaid strip into a central base portion and a pair of support portions;and stop means formed on at least one of said portions adjacent thehinges and bearing against an adjacent other portion when said supportportions are swung to project approximately perpendicular to said baseportion and to support a bag between the erected support portions; saidsupport being further characterized in that said material is flat, thelateral edges of all said portions being formed with bent-over angles toprovide stiffness for said flat material; the distance between saidangles being different on the different portions of said support toenable folding of said portions within each other without interferenceof said angles; and said stop means comprising a strip of materiallocated on one of said portions to bear against the end face of an angleon an adjacent portion.
 16. Support according to claim 15 wherein saidmaterial is formed with mesh openings.